8-21-11 Fruit – Pruning

We’ve been talking about the kingdom of God for the last two months. For many of you, this has changed how you think about Christianity and it should. For many of us we have been taught cultural Christianity, not the Christianity that Jesus taught. Cultural christianity takes all the good news out of the gospel for us today.

The kingdom of God is the central message of Jesus. For many, we’ve come to falsely understand the kingdom of God as being an equivalent of heaven or eternal life, but Jesus never talked about it that way.

Jesus announced that the kingdom of God was something that was at hand, within reach, and available now, today. Then we looked at the place where Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” And we looked at the parables where Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is like this and it’s like that, it’s like buried treasure, it’s like the smallest of seeds that grows into largest of trees.”

For all of you who have been with us for the series, you should now have a good idea about what the kingdom of God is, but the question that I’ve been purposely avoiding until now is, “How does the kingdom of God grow inside of us?” How do we get the DNA of heaven to grow inside of us? How do we get the good things of life to grow inside of us and the dark things of life that grow inside of us to leave?

If you’re unclear about what the kingdom of God is, then I highly suggest going out to our website and review my sermon notes of those messages or the MP3 recordings of those messages, because growth as a Christian is nearly impossible without a right understanding of the kingdom.

The condition of our hearts are central to growing the kingdom of God inside of us. Just as a seed in a garden can’t grow in acidic soil, so it is that the kingdom of God doesn’t grow in an acidic heart. So today, let’s look to the master gardener and let’s see what he has to say about growing the kingdom of God inside of us. How do we get the DNA of heaven growing in our hearts?

Jesus said, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean (or pruned) because of the word I have spoken to you. John 15:1-3

Ok, so let’s name all the parts of the metaphor that Jesus is talking about in these verses, because we’re not going to look at all the verse today. In this metaphor Jesus is saying “I am the trunk vine that comes out of the ground in a vineyard. Next he tells us that we, as human beings, all human beings, are the branches of the grape vine. And that our purpose as human beings is to bear fruit, just as the purpose of grape vines is to bear grapes. Father God is the Gardener – the farmer or caretaker of the grapes. Those are all the pieces of the metaphor that Jesus is using to teach us. Let’s step into it.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine. He doesn’t say “I am like a vine.” He says, “I am a vine.” The vine that Jesus is most likely talking about is a grape vine. So we must ask, what does a grape vine do? What are its characteristics? What is its purpose?

This is an interesting illustration because we live in grape country. We are surrounded by grapes. We know that grapes get pruned every year and many of the branches get cut off, but the trunk vine never gets cut off. Jesus is referring to himself as that trunk vine. That trunk vine is necessary for the branches to live. If the branches of the vine are cut off, they die. They cannot live independently from the main trunk vine.

Now, it’s interesting. Jesus also says, “I am the TRUE vine,” as if there are false vines. He distinguishes between types of vines. He is the true vine, but there are also false vines. We all have seen other types of vines. These vines climb anything that’s vertical and, if allowed to grow, eventually kill it anything that they grow on. They constrict the life out of other living things. This type of vine doesn’t produce any fruit. It doesn’t provide anything good, it just kills anything that it climbs on.

There are two types of vines. A grape vine produces fruit. Other types of vines don’t produce fruit. An Jesus is very clear here. He is true vine, one that produces fruit, as compared with the false vine that doesn’t. He gives life and vitality, but other vines kill.

The fruit that Jesus is talking about is the fruit of the kingdom of God, the DNA of heaven growing inside you. You and I can’t grow anything good inside us apart from Jesus.

Now, the vine image that Jesus refers to was used throughout the Old Testament. Here are a couple of illustrations. The Psalmist says,

You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. Psalms 80:8 (NIV)

Here the vine refers to Israel, God’s chosen people. Then in Jeremiah 2:21 we find where God says,

I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? Jeremiah 2:21 (NIV)

There’s a choice vine and a corrupt, wild vine. There’s the true vine, which is Jesus and then there’s the false vine. One produces the fruit of heaven, the other, if given the chance, will kill you.

Now, it’s important to understand that the back drop of Jesus’ teaching here in John 15 is the parables of the Kingdom of God in which Jesus tells us, “The kingdom of God is like a seed planted in a field.” The reason why the seed is planted is to produce fruit. The reason the vine is planted is to produce fruit – fruit of the kingdom, fruit of heaven.

God longed for fruit from Israel, but the vine that God planted in the nation of Israel had degenerated and produced rotten fruit. Israel could not produce fruit on their own, because sin and a misunderstanding of who God is corrupted their vine and couldn’t produce healthy fruit.

Some of you have been living with a misunderstanding about what Christianity is and when you look inside of yourselves you see fruit that’s not all that good. There are different vines. There is the true vine and then there are other types of vines. There are many teachings about Jesus. Which Jesus do you believe in? Is it a false Jesus or the true one? You can tell by the fruit that is on the inside of you (see Matthew 7:17 for more).

“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. John 15:1

Those listening to Jesus in the first century would have immediately connected this idea of the Father being a gardener with the God in Genesis one who’s first act after creating the world was to plant a Garden in the center of it, called the Garden of Eden. That garden was full of physical fruit. Jesus uses this image to help us understand that we’re created to bear fruit in our hearts. He’s saying, the One who created heaven on earth in Eden can create it in your heart as well, if you let him.

Jesus continues. “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes (or cuts it off, but differently) so that it will be even more fruitful.

In this teaching, the people of this world – you and I are the branches. Now, it’s interesting again, just as it was with the sower of the seeds and different kinds of soil, there is this quality of in-ness for all people. Sometimes Christians think of themselves as “IN” while they think of others as out, but Jesus never does this. In all of his teaching, all people are in, but the question that he raises is “What are you going to do with your In-ness?”

All people receive the seed for the kingdom, but the question Jesus posses is what are you going to do with your seed? In the parable of the prodigal son, both sons are invited to the party, but the question for the older brother is will he join the party or not. Jesus died for the whole world, but what will you do with the gift he’s given you? All of Jesus’ teachings are about inclusion, not exclusion. It’s about grace. In this teaching, all the branches are connected to Jesus who is the main vine. The question is what are they going to do with their connection? Will they stay connected or not? Will they produce fruit or not?

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Now it’s interesting that there are two types of cutting that Jesus records. The first type is to remove the branch because it is dead. In the branch that’s dead, there’s no life, there’s no goodness, there’s nothing that is compatible with heaven. In this Jesus is referring to people who don’t have a seed of the kingdom of God growing in them. As far as Jesus is concerned, the seed of the kingdom of God growing in you is mandatory. Goodness doesn’t come from you or from me, it comes from heaven, it comes from God and God alone. When we are not connected to the true vine, which is Jesus, we have no fruit, we have no evidence that the kingdom is growing in us. People without the kingdom growing in them are not compatible with heaven. Eventually they get cut off.

We’re told in Genesis chapter 6 that

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Genesis 6:5-7 (NLT)

God is good and what he wills to do with the earth is good, and for him there is no room in it for people who do not will and want that which is good. God wants to move us toward heaven, but he gives us a choice. God wants to redeem you and I and every human being on the earth, but it’s each person’s choice. Each person has to want God’s help. Each person has to want to stay connected. You can chose to say, “God I don’t need your help. I don’t want to be connected.”  That’s your choice.

However, if you chose not to want God’s help, it is the testament of God’s word that says, “You will become evil apart from God.” God’s word makes it very clear that human beings don’t know what is right and good apart from God. We think we do, but we don’t. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” His life is a testament to the truth that leads us toward living in goodness. Apart from him there is goodness. Jesus says,

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

The second kind of cutting the Father does, doesn’t cut the whole branch off, like he did in the first cutting. Instead he cuts part of the branch off. He cuts only the part that’s not producing good fruit. This branch is producing some fruit, but it isn’t producing its full potential. The Father wants to produce the fullest amount of fruit in you. He wants to grow the fruits of heaven inside of you. Pruning is essential to produce healthy fruit. It is essential in order to grow healthy people.

That anger issue, it doesn’t work in heaven, it needs to be pruned. That lust issue that you have, it’s not compatible with heaven. It’ll have to go. All that anxiety that is like a wet blanket in your soul, that’ll have to go. Some things aren’t compatible with heaven – they’re evil, they’re dark, they’re contrary to heaven, they’ll have to go. They need to be pruned off.

If you have believed that the kingdom of God is something that you’ll experience some day when you die, and you never knew that there was a realm in which the kingdom of God could grow in you, then the fruit of heaven won’t grow in you.

This is important, because I find that many Christians today are living powerless lives. Evil is winning in their lives. After years and years of being Christians, evil is still triumphing over them. This happens because the way they view the world, the way they view God and the way they view even themselves. Though not intentional, they are worshipping a false god. They have a false view about who God is and what God wants for their lives today.

Jesus came to redeem you, not some day when you die, but now, today. It’s a process, it’s a journey, but it begins today. And get this, our Father God, the great Gardener wants to grow fruit in you. That’s why he’s the Gardener in Jesus’ story. He wants to produce the fruit of heaven inside of you. He wants to give you peace, not anxiety. He wants to grow joy in you, not depression. He wants the fruit of heaven to grow in you, and in order to do that he calls you to work with him to do the pruning of the evil that’s within you. He wants to prune you, but you have to understand what it is, why it’s necessary, and want it. We have to ask for pruning. We have to want more fruit and we have to want to be whole. We must seek it more than anything else in life.

Maybe you’ve believed that the fruit of heaven couldn’t grow in you until you died, until you went to heaven. Our beliefs form us. They form a reality that we live into. Our beliefs are the prison that holds us captive. If you believe wrongly about Jesus you will live into that reality. It will hold you captive. That’s why Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, because it is the right worldview.  When we see the world as Jesus does, he teaches us what good and evil is and how to grow goodness in our hearts and how to war against the evil that grows within us and win.

So often we think Christianity is all about comfort, about feeling good, about happiness, because we think to ourselves, “Well if the kingdom is about Love, Joy and Peace, then I ought to feel good, and sometimes we equate that to comfort.

However, for Jesus there was an aspect of losing a part of yourself that was necessary to grow the kingdom of God within you. Pruning isn’t easy. It doesn’t feel good. In pruning we have to hold on to Jesus the vine, more than the evil within us. We have to let go of the evil and cling to the vine. But what happens more often than not is we cling to the evil and let go of the vine. We cling to the sin and let go of Jesus. We actually like the evil within us more than we like Jesus. It’s because we’re comfortable and familiar with the evil in us. It feels natural. It doesn’t feel good, but it feel like me. I am who I am. You can’t change that, right?

Friends, every human being is born into this world with good and evil in them. If we get to know others, we can often see good and evil side by side. In this person I see a great encourager, but then say the wrong thing to them and they become abusive as they erupt in bitterness, as vile words come from their mouth – goodness and evil out of the same mouth. I see good hearted people who are tender and warm and compassionate and right alongside that goodness is a heart that is filled with anxiety that threatens to overrun them. Goodness and evil side by side. James says this of the tongue.

Sometimes it (the tongue) praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring. James 3:9-12 (NLT)

What kind of heart do you have? Is it compatible with heaven? Is there any evil in you? Are you ok with it being there? No, I mean it, are you ok with it being there. Don’t be too quick to answer this question. Ask yourself, “What am I doing to fight against the evil in my heart?” If you’re not doing anything about the evil in your heart, then either A) you’re ok with it, you’re comfortable with it, or B) you don’t believe that you have any power to defeat it.

Friends, let me remind you of the series that we’ve just finished. God has planted a seed inside of you with the DNA of heaven. Jesus calls it the kingdom of God. He wants to grow heaven inside of you. He wants your heart to swell with the goodness of his presence inside of you. Jesus tells us that God is the great Gardener and he wants to grow great fruit inside of you. If great fruit is not growing inside of you, it’s not God’s fault.

Jesus says: You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:13-14 (NLT)

Jesus isn’t talking about asking for a pot of gold or a new Hummer. He’s talking about fruit – the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of heaven.

Jesus tells us that pruning needs to take place in order for the fruit of heaven to grow in our hearts.

How serious are you about confronting evil within you? God has given you free will. He refuses to do anything in you that you don’t want, that you don’t ask for. God will not prune the evil inside of you unless you ask him to and are willing to do the hard work of warring against that evil.

Jesus continues: You are already (pruned) clean because of the word I have spoken to you. John 15:3

Let me say that again. You are already clean (pruned) because of the word I have spoken to you.

What does the pruning? Jesus’ word – God’s word. Jesus is God’s word in the flesh. Our Bibles are significant tools for pruning. They give us a right understanding about what God deems as good and what God deems as evil. We cannot be serious about producing the fruit of heaven, the kingdom of God in our lives without God’s word filling us. We must become students of God’s word. We must master God’s will. We must see the world as he does. We must understand who he is and what he calls us to be in him. God’s word prunes us.

The word that Jesus uses for “word” is Logos, and in ancient Hebrew thought, a word was deeply spiritual because when God spoke the world into being, his breath, his Spirit went forth from him and created the world. Word and Spirit are deeply tied together. Here, the Spirit of God that is in Jesus is cleansing the disciple’s hearts. The Word of God and the Spirit of God are the ways in which we are pruned. The Word of God and the Spirit of God are both for our benefit. They are gifts of God to us to prune us of evil.

When Jesus says, “You are already clean because of the words that I have spoken to you.” He’s saying, “Because you have spent time with me listening to me and learning from me, you have already been pruned. All the evil ways of thinking, all the twisted and distorted worldviews that you came to me with have been loped off.  My word and my presence have pruned you. There is no substitute for pruning. We must spend time in prayer and God’s Word to be pruned. We must seek to know who God is and who we are in him. We must seek to conform our will to his will. We must seek to know the difference between good and evil, because the Evil One is a liar and a deceiver and often times we think up is down and down is up, we think evil is good and good is evil. We need to know who God is and who we are in him. We must learn how to fight against evil with God’s word and with prayer if we want to produce the fruit of the kingdom inside of us. As long as evil grows within us, there will be barren places in which nothing good grows. We must learn to discern between goodness and evil and fight against the evil, even while growing more and more of Heaven’s fruit inside of us.